Cute Apron and Chef's Hat pattern giveaway

I entered this cute giveaway.

Thought I needed a break?

I really felt like I needed a break but not to be. I had a huge event for our young women at church and I had volunteered to do all the last minute running around. I was almost to Costco, my last stop and my brakes starting giving out. Luckily my fabulous SIL Brittany was able to pick me up. I was grateful that I had gotten everything I needed but I nearly had a bad panic attack right before leaving to the young women's activity. I felt better once I got there and made it through the evening. That was last night and today I feel better. I am painting so I have been light-headed from the fumes. I really would have been able to handle the broken car if there hadn't been several other stressful things going at the same time. I am also grateful that I had left Em and Ballerina with Deena and Mya and Cory were at school. Many $'s later the van is fixed. That makes 4 repairs in three months. My van has over a hundred thousand miles so it's just going to have those problems but I really want to wait until next year before buying a new van. So I guess I'll keep fixing it.

When I called the tow company the guy who was helping me asked, "Is this the Kendra that married Scott and worked at the cannery." That was a weird question but it was a guy from high school and he and I were the only two non-Mexican workers at the cannery that summer. We hung out together on our lunch breaks and I never would have survived that icky job if it wasn't for him. He even gave me the nicest card at the end of the summer which I have never forgotten. What a funny coincidence to talk to him like that. He was a year younger than me but Scott remembered him too because he was such a nice guy. He must have like me for me because I never wore makeup to that job and I wore a hairnet everyday.

Tomorrow is Mya's 11th friend birthday party. We invited 13 girls and only a few have RSVP'd which is kind of frustrating that I don't know how many girls to expect. We are doing a Fondue theme. It should be fun no matter how many girls show up. She wanted a RC truck so I got her a giant one at Costco. The great thing about having an 11 year old is that she is so ready to babysit and that means a lot more freedom for me. I love it. For now I only have her babysit when I am no more than 5 minutes away. We might try going 10-15 minutes away in a month or two.

La la la la la la la

DH took this picture from our front yard. I haven't been blogging much or reading blogs. I am feel way behind. I had a subject I wanted to blog about but I keep trying to decide if it will come out right. October has been busy. The first half was mostly getting ready for Em's carnival birthday party which was TOTALLY AWESOME. I wish I had more time to do more but it was fun just the way it was. Em loved it.

Struggles: I have had a hard time focusing when my 10 and 9 year old talk to me. They talk so much and sometimes so randomly that my brain cannot keep up or slow down enough to concentrate on the meaning of the message. I find myself getting very frustrated with them. I am trying to be more attentive and control my temper.

Cor has been working so hard on his reading and spelling and I am so proud of his progress. He is very consistent with his spelling errors that I think things will eventually click for him. Either way I think we will have him tested for any learning disabilities. He is constantly switching his b's and d's which I remember doing too.

I had my once a month day that I get totally irritated with my lack of being able to keep the house clean. Usually I get over it and I am lazy again. I did decide that having a clean home would bring me a great deal of satisfaction and the only way that was going to happen would be if I started cleaning more consistently. I have a system but I had to start using it. So I have been doing really good this week. It is evening now and I cleaned and worked hard all day and my house is still a little messy but that is the mess that my little ones made after I cleaned. Ballerina did inform me that she was not going to clean up. She wanted to see what she could get away with. She did clean up her room so she could play on the computer. She did pretty good for being four years old. My room is very clean but I still have a few piles of projects that need to get finished and put in their place. I cleaned the mirrors and windows in my room today. I dusted a little, made the bed and lit the candle. I was trying to decide if I was being uptight when I informed DH that I don't like it when he wrestles with the kids on our bed. Especially when I have made the bed and they turn it into a big mess. The kids undo all the cleaning I do in the rest of the house and I really want my room to be off limits. As it is they are constantly dropping their stuff in there. At night I usually gather it all up and throw it out in the hall. I want my room to be a place where I don't have to think about all the stuff.

I used to fold my laundry on our bed but then I would leave it there then we would have to pile it on the floor and sometimes it would be there for days. I have moved the folding to the couch where I feel more motivated to get it put it away. I am totally caught up on my laundry. I only had to do one load today. My goal is two loads a day. I don't think I'll have enough to do laundry tomorrow. My dryer is dying so I am waiting for it to give out completely.

Things I need to buy:

Dryer
Carpet Cleaning, mine is dead
Tile for the backsplash in the kitchen
Bathroom faucet for Master bedroom
Flooring for Entry, Kitchen and Family room
A dressy coat for me
Curtains for the sliding door so I can get rid of the horrible, dirty blinds hanging there now. Why would you hang blinds that are impossible to clean? I don't understand it.

That's just off the top of my head. I know there is more but I don't even want to think about it. We were going to do the wood floors down the hall when we did the entry, kitchen and family room but now I am thinking that will be way too noisy. I think I want to put a berber carpet in the hall. It will be tougher and softer. Hopefully that's a realistic plan. The main obstacle with all of them is $. I am working on a savings plan but it will still be a while before I can afford floors especially if I am forced to buy a dryer.

I would also like to rip out the backsplash in both the bathrooms but I need to finish the kitchen first. I have a problem staying focused on one project until it's done. Hence the reason I have not had a consistently clean house. DH is always focused and I am trying to be a little more like him.

Mental struggle: I have been a little crazy lately and more weepy. Just hormones because I wasn't any more stressed than normal. I start worrying that no one loves me and I have failed at everything I've ever done. Yes, it's all so dramatic but I give into it until I talk some sense into myself. I hardly ever cry so when I start crying over one of the kid's movies then I know something is not working. Am I the only one that feels a little broken sometimes??? I feel better now. I don't ever remember feeling that way before I had kids, sleepless nights and an endless list of responsibilities. But I can't remember in detail my feelings or struggles prior to having children. I am amazed when I read my journal because my life is so different now.

My current stage of life is half a day with only one of my four kids. I love it. I love having the quiet time with Ballerina. Em comes home happy and plays so well with Ballerina. I can run errands in the morning just with Ballerina or short ones with both of them in the afternoon. I still have no clue what I will do when all of them are in school all day but I am confident I will come up with something. The logical answer would be to go back to school but I am not sure I'll be ready for that.

I know a totally pointless blog entry but that's what is up with me.

Summer Projects

Mya's room was one of the summer projects. This is a picture of Mya's stuff that I piled in the living so we could sort it out. For the most part I let my kids determine how and when they clean their rooms but Mya asked for help. One day I decided to tackle it. It took 1 1/2 hours just to take everything out of the room. We sorted through it all, threw away a lot, recycled a lot of papers. I think it's pretty reasonable now. I told Mya she could no longer give Cor a hard time about how gross his room is. That was over a month ago and I walked in there this week and it looks about the same as it did before I cleaned it. I don't go in there unless I have to. It bothers me that her and Cor's rooms are so messy but kids have to have their own space. We help Cor with his more often.

This was another project. The roof wasn't great when we bought the house and we knew we would someday have to replace it. Four and half years later we decided it was time to get it done. The priests (16-18 year old boys) from our ward came and helped tear it off for a service project. That was a huge help. A friend of ours who does construction gave us a great deal and had some of his guys come out and put the new roof on. It was a noisy week abut now its a beautiful new roof. It's hard to get excited about your roof but we tried.

Here's the new counters. The old ones were white with blue and pink speckles. Icky. The picture of the new ones looks very green and I don't think they look that green in real life. The sample we got didn't look green at all. We like it and this weekend I worked on staining the mitered corners. We are still looking for tile for the backsplash. Our great friend Brent helped DH insall the new counters. They just glued it on top of the old laminate, formica whatever it's called. It's has a cool texture that makes it always look wet and the dark color hides the dirt well. If you look at the above picture and the cupboards look different colors. That's the difference between regular light bulbs and the fluorescent. The cupboards closest to you looked so much warmer. We took out the florescents and felt a little guilty but we've gotten over it. We still use florescent bulbs in the other rooms but not in the bathroom because they made my hair look green.

Right after we got back from Fiji I decided I couldn't stand the sick color of the walls in my Master bedroom any longer. We painted all the walls white and one accent wall blue. It's lovely and serene. I am working on decorating the rest of the room but it's still kind of a mess. We both love the blue color which is a relief since picking out paint color can go very wrong sometimes. I also like the clean feeling of the white walls. Our room is getting closer to being a sanctuary than a place to dump our junk.

I wanted to do the floors in the entry, hall, kitchen and family room with some laminate wood flooring but the savings account was not sufficient to fund that project so it will have to wait a little longer. We also need a need a new entry chandelier, new kitchen faucet, bathroom faucet, door knobs and the list goes on and on. But that's how it is when you own a home and a limited amount to spend on it. I am very pleased with what we've accomplished this year. We had to buy a new dishwasher and a new microwave too which wasn't really fun but necessary.

Fogarty Beach

This was a super fun beach. It had this creek where the kids could play and move the rocks around. The sand was not really sand but small rocks. It was darker too so it was pretty hot. DH and I were sad we both forgot to bring books. We played for over four hours before we decided it was time to head home. We used to go to this beach a lot when I was a kid, with all my cousins.

There's Cor checking out some sea weed or pieces of wood to carve. There is a lot of sea weed on this beach and the ocean crashes huge waves right up on shore. So it wasn't really safe to play in but the creek was fun and the waves were amazing to watch. That big rock ahead of him is perfect for climbing on.

Ballerina and I were going to climb the big rocks but she didn't like the loud, large waves so we played in the creek and tried not to burn our feet. I know that doesn't sound like fun but it was a perfect day. It was almost 70 degrees and not enough wind to fly our big kite but it was nice not to get blown away. We'll definitely be back to this beach. We should have brought our swim suits, it's just that you don't always think to bring those when going to the Oregon coast. I didn't even have to wear a jacket this time.

Unless we plan an extended family trip every couple months we watch the weather and go on a day it's forecasted to be nice. DH had to go back to work on Tuesday and Monday looked to be the nicest day at the coast this week so it worked out perfectly.

Summer Fun

If we are friends on Facebook you'll have already seen my pictures for our trip to Fiji. Fiji was definitely the highlight of our summer. But we have also done a lot of other cool things with the kids. It has been a magical summer.

Swimming at the Reed Cabin. It's so nice to have the cabin and the great swimming spot available whenever we want. We stayed 2 nights and 3 days recently and it was so fun. DH's sister Kim's family came too. We stayed a night while DH's brother was here for the 4th of July weekend. This last time Em discovered that the life jacket is trustworthy and she was swimming everywhere and jumping in a bunch of times. At first she was so scared to get in but once she discovered she could be independent and safe she was so proud of herself.
Safety Town for Em and Ballerina. They learned so much that I had tried to teach them but when I taught them it was scary. They had a lot of fun and made some friends.
Here's Em at swim lessons. Em wouldn't ever leave the wall but she did get better at her swim techniques. Cor and Mya both did great and are very confident in the water. Ballerina was so funny at lessons but she made some strides in her confidence in the water.
Here's Jenna (one of my sisters) holding Brooke, our neice. That's Abby, Jenna's 2nd daughter, at Agate beach which was really windy that day. We had so much fun with Jacob and Heather's family when they were here for a week in June. The weather at the beach was perfect. Their four kids and our four kids all played together happily and there weren't any injuries the whole week. That's a miracle.
While Jacob and Heather were here we spent part of one day at OMSI. It was so much fun and we have a family pass and this is the first time I've been there. I'd go all the time if it wasn't for the drive. In the picture is Ballerina (pink), Emily (blue) and Kylie (brown).
Our cool friend has a boat so we had a boating date. We went with the Anth, her husband (cool friend) and Kirk and Brittany. DH's sister was nice enough to watch the kids. This is DH and Kirk trying to hold on while cool friend is trying to dump them off. Brittany and I got on the tube on the conditions that we would not end up in the water. Cool friend assured us we would stay dry. Unfortunately their was a problem and we ended up in the Willamette River. Oh well. I did find out my pink shorts are see through when wet. Good thing I had my bathing suit on underneath.

rain, swimming, interviews, shopping and cute dresses

I love summer. How I love summer. My favorite part has to be WARMTH! I prefer being too warm to being even slightly cold. For over a week we've had warm weather. We did have Thunder and Lightning storms the last couple days which was amazing. We so rarely get lightning, it was exciting. But Cor went to go swimming with the Scouts yesterday and they were only in the pool a few seconds before they had to get out and take cover.

Summer also means Ballerina's birthday in a few weeks. Her birthday is actually on the official first day of summer and this year falls on Father's Day. We are having her first "friend" party on the Saturday before. I thought I was being smart and ordering her party supplies early. I ordered Em's too late and they weren't here for her party. They arrived almost a week ago, three weeks before her party. She was so mad that I wouldn't let her have the party that very day. So we printed a calendar with a few other important dates on it and every day we put a star on the calendar to mark the days passing. She is only slightly pacified by this activity.

Summer means cute dresses every where and I am caught up in the trend (not to be confused with a fad). I would even say Spring/Summer dresses are a Classic. I just ordered three fun dresses online and Anth help me find one at JCrew for under $20 which is my criteria. Anth and my Sister Staci got me into wearing skirts which is fun but I am so ultra picky about how things fit around my waist. I have found that I prefer a fun knee-length dress. All are sleeveless but I am prepared with several new layering tees.

Yay for end of the school year. DH finished his last Administrative this week and even got a call from the school district for an interview for a Vice-principal position. That is next Tuesday. I don't know how anxious he is about it but I can't wait. We've been so busy all week that we haven't had time to talk about it. He is glad to have the opportunity to interview. It makes all the work seem more worthwhile. I am so proud of him and excited to see where this will take him in his future job opportunities.

Baseball is almost over for Cor. It has been a lot of work just running one kid to all his practices and games. DH and I decided were just not as into that as other parents. Maybe later when all our kids are older it won't seem so exhausting to take all of them everywhere. On Wednesday I spent over four hours driving my kids to all their stuff then we ended up at the church for my meetings and DH met me there to pick up the kids. I was so frazzled by the end.

Summer will be a nice break from the endless scheduled events. Plus a vacation to beautiful South Pacific should be rejuvenating.

Today's Shopping Trips

I didn't take pictures but I think I did good today.

I went to Safeway and I bought 35 items. I spent $44.27. I saved $43.83 which was 50%. The average price of each item was $1.26. Not too bad.

I also went to Walgreens and spent $26.48. I got 13 items. Each item averaged about $2.06. Which is still pretty good considering the items I was buying. I also got $7 in register rewards so you could say my total is $19.48 which would make the average price of each item $1.50. But I usually use my register rewards for the kids to get stuff.

Tomorrow I am going to try and go to Walmart to get Cory a new sleeping bag for our trip to the cabin. It's the Cabin Work weekend. We go to DH's Mom's family cabin and do cleaning and repairs. All the Aunts, Uncles and cousin who can make it come up too. There aren't any huge projects this year so we'll clean for a while and eat a lot. It should be fun. Mya and Cor are really excited.

I also have a gift card from my birthday and I am going to look for a clock to put above my sewing desk. I usually need to know the time when I am sitting there and I can't see the clock on the stove or the microwave from that angle. When I am in the middle of something I don't want to get up.

It's been such a crazy week and I am exhausted.

Deals at Albertson's Today

I spent $15.58 for all this. The average price of each item was $.71. My total savings was $64.40. I am pretty happy with it. I am trying to figure out this whole couponing thing. That blury spot in the picture I am pretty sure is from the girls putting their fingerprints on the camera.

Waiting

Everyone is waiting for something:

I am waiting for Summer.
Designated Hitter is waiting for Administrative classes to be over (only 2 left).
Mya is waiting for more books to read.
Cor is waiting for whining to work.
Em is waiting for Kindergarten.
Ballerina is waiting for Jesus to come.

Awesome Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day. Designated Hitter did everything I told him to and then some. I got perfume, lotion and Pride and Prejudice (the old one, of course). Mya made me a poem and card and Cor made me a fridge magnet. Ballerina told me Happy Mother's Day about every 15 minutes. Em decided to be true to her personality and refused to recognize anyone's happiness but her own. If there's any kind of pressure to conform she opposes it. She is a very good kid otherwise. We watched P and P all day. I really got to relax.

Blogs to check out...

DH started this blog:

Yak Brothers of Oregon

My SIL started this one and she takes lovely pictures:

BELS Photos

birthday festivities

I had a really good birthday. There was a few things that it was not but those I was able to get over.

My 8 year old son Cor had discovered yesterday morning that my birthday had arrived and he didn't have a present for me. Actually, all the kids came to this conclusion at once. Em was bothered by it for a while but eventually gave up because being five rendered her powerless to do anything about it. Cor tried to convince me at the grocery store to buy a gift card that he would give to me then he would pay me back when we got home. I told him I wouldn't do that. Later I got in the shower. About the middle of my shower I saw one of the kids run in and out of my bathroom. A few minutes later Cor came running through again. I looked out and Cor had place $1, a note and some rhododendron flowers on the toilet lid for me to find when I got out of the shower. I thought it was so sweet and that he wanted it to be a surprise and that he knew I would like the flowers.

Early in the morning my neighbor brought me a homemade cake with Sprinkles. Her husband has the same birthday as me so I thought that was really sweet.

My Dad called and sent me a text but both times I didn't have time to answer. He said he had arranged for the delivery of a gift from one of my siblings but has yet to appear. So I get to look forward to that on another day???

My SIL Brittany brought me Chicken Pot pie because I told her I wanted it for my birthday. I never make that because no one else in my family would eat it. I had some for lunch and it was fabulous. Oh and she got me a Hoops and Yoyo talking card and it's so CUTE. I heart Hoops and Yoyo.

My friend Becca brought me Pineapple cookies and they were so good. I ate most of them.

My brother Calvin, who works nights in a sleep lab, called me in the morning right when he got off work. He felt bad that I would minus a husband all day so later he brought me a chocolate cake and a talking The Office card and a gift card. And the cake had number candles on it--34!!!! I love number candles.

Oh, on Friday night I got to go out to dinner with some friends and my sister, Jenna. She brought me a gift card for Mary Kay and a talking birthday card. About a week ago I got a card from my oldest sister Staci for Victoria's secret. Yesterday I got a card from Scott's Aunt Jolae, she remembers everyone's birthday and she is my inspiration. I got a card from my in-laws with some cash. I put it in my can where I have been saving my sewing money.

I am very excited about all the money I get to spend on ME! La la la.

Past tense, last Sunday we had dinner with Deena's family and that was really fun and I considered it a pre-birthday dinner. Deena can cook and it was so nice to hang out with her great family and chat.

Saturday night after I got back from a dinner and church meeting with Elder Russell M. Nelson and Elder Michael Ringwood I had another gift from Anth waiting for me. She gave me a knife which I love and have already used it. It makes sense if you know how much we talk about food. A lot.

My niece Madeline babysat for me while I was at the dinner and church meeting and she didn't let me pay her. Super sweet girl and a great babysitter.

I am also excited because one of my favorite cousin's wife had a baby girl this month and they named her with a K and she was born in April so she is awesome. Because you know K names rock!

I've hardly seen Designated Hitter for more than an hour this whole week. That's definitely a thumbs down but it's been that way for months and probably will be for a couple more months so I can't start getting bummed about it now. DH has been feeling super guilty about not being around this weekend but I keep telling him that he has misplaced guilt. We'll see if he ever figures out or is brave enough to ask me what is really bothering me.

Talking birthday cards, lots of dessert and a husband who may have misplaced guilt but he is totally devoted to the Lord, to me and our family. Overall it was a very good birthday.

Here's my cutey kids

Don't they look like they love each other? So sweet.

I took these pictures this morning and almost cried because pictures I took actually turned out alright. That's a miracle.

This will make you cry...

I read this in the Statesman Journal today.

A judge overseeing a civil lawsuit in Nassau County separately froze the assets of Madoff's brother, Peter.

Initially, Peter Madoff's lawyer claimed the freeze was so tight, he didn't have money to buy bread or take the subway. The judge responded by loosening his spending to $10,000 a month.

Madoff's sons also have to return $31 million in loans they took from their parents. So next time your kids ask for a treat that costs less than a dollar you might not feel so bad for spoiling them just a little.

This didn't make me cry but it did make me laugh.

Education

I have been reading the April Ensign the last couple days and I liked a couple quotes that I thought I would share. The first when really summarizes how I feel sometimes. There is so much information out there and sometimes it's hard to determine what is truth. It seems like most everything is someone's opinion and can change at any time.

Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife Kristen M. Oaks

As we seek to receive and apply the guidance of the Spirit in a world driven by trends and issues of the day, we are confronted by an avalanche of often erroneous and trivial information served up by modern technology. We risk becoming what one observer called " 'pancake people'-spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by a mere touch of a button."

The next quote I liked because I have learned this over and over again in my church callings. Sometimes I get frustrated with my calling because things seem too hard and outside of my abilities and then I am reminded that the Lord will make me who I need to be. And he has so many times. It also reminds me of something my Dad might say and a quote my FIL would love because as he says: "I am a quote guy."

President Thomas S. Monson, as part of his message during the general Relief Society meeting held on September 29, 2007, told women; "Do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, bvt pray for abilities equal to your task. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle."

I consider myself to be a life-long learner even though I am not currently enrolled in school. I love to learn new things. I think I do put things in two categories; one, things I could easily learn and two, things too difficult. I avoid the difficult unless forced on me and I think that is limiting. It's a bad habit and one that will probably take some time to break.

I have been thinking again about my formal education and if there came a time that I would have to provide for my family I really wouldn't know what I would do. The education I have is in clothing and textiles and I right now I am not sure that would get me a job that would provide for my family if I had to. Right now I don't have to worry about it and I am extremely grateful but you never know what the future brings.

Is it weird that I want these?

I found these in the Williams-Sonoma catalog and for some reason I think they are super cute and I want them for my Easter decor. But then I think maybe it's something freaky that a crazy old lady would have in her house. I don't want to scare my kids. What do you think?

I LOVE APRIL...I can't wait!

Birthday Cakes from WiddlyTinks.com

I ask myself the serious questions

Do I really need all those styling products to have beautiful hair?

I had a conversation with Anth lately about hair styling products because I am always trying to convince her that she should use something even though she has naturally fabulous hair. I am convinced that my hair needs all the help it can get. I decided I shouldn't be so stubborn in all my opinions. So I did an experiment. I only used one instead of FIVE products on my hair two days in a row. This product is a smoother and helps me to comb through the last of the tangles. The first day I let my hair dry on it's own and I didn't do anything in the way of styling it. It was a bit wavy and a little frizz. I think Designated Hitter (new name for my husband, get it DH) prefers my hair that way. I thought it was alright for staying home the whole day hair.

The next day I straightened it with the same product as the first day. I didn't think it was going to turn out but my hair straigthened just fine. The only difference being that it was not as smooth but the difference was minimal, meaning only I would notice. I also got two separate comments that my hair looked lighter in color or shinier. I also thought it looked shinier.

Conclusion: One of the reasons I use so much hair product is to make my hair shinier and for more control but it seems to have the opposite affect. I think there's something psychological to using all those products. Even now that I realize that I don't need all that stuff to achieve basically the same affect I still have a hard time letting them go. I think I will still use them for special occasions and Sundays. The rest of the week I can use the one product and some hairspray and I should be able to save some money.

updates on sickville

Well so far no one else is sick. Ballerina slept all night until 5 a.m. But she refused to go back to sleep so I let her get in bed with me. That was unpleasant but it was the only way to get her to stop whining. She loves milk and she bummed she can't have any today. I sent Mya and Cor to school with a juice pack and instructions not to drink milk. I was glad to see them feeling much better today. They have Thursday and Friday off school because of Conferences so they'll only have two days of school this week. I think Cor was excited about that and Mya was alright with it because we have fun things planned for Spring break. She's already been on me about what we have planned for each and every day.

A little update

I was talking to a friend at church about how her family had the flu. She was telling me how terrible it was. When church got done Cor came into my classroom and said he felt like throwing up. He threw up most of the evening. A few hours after church Mya started feeling bad and she threw up all night. Loud, horrible retching sounds. She took care of herself but none of us got any sleep. Ballerina started throwing up. So far that's 3 out of 6. Em has happily announced that she is not sick and she won't be getting sick. We'll see. Mya and Cor stayed home and rested today and were able to eat very little. Ballerina's first vomit was while she was attempting to give me a hug then she backed up so most of the puke landed on the couch next to me and on the back of my pant leg. I got that cleaned up and she has succesfully been able to puke in her bowl ever since. She can't decide if she wants to stay up or go to bed. So she is going to make it a long night. She has been following me around telling me she is sick. I'm so tired that I'm starting to lose my patience with her.

Pre-puking Ballerina was quite the silly girl this weekend. Before I got in the shower Sunday morning she said she wanted to get dressed. I told her I would get her dressed after my shower. During my shower she came in to ask if she could take her panties off. She had already taken her pajamas off. I told her to wait till I got out of the shower. She came back a couple minutes later with no panties and a dress she wanted to wear. I told her she needed a shirt to wear with it and panties. So she went back and pulled a sweater out of the closet. She ran around naked, doing naked tricks, while I got dressed. The rest of the kids think it's gross when she runs around naked but I think it's so cute.

DH took his Praxis test for his Administrative license. He was really frustrated because his study guide didn't prepare him for the test at all. He doesn't think he did very well but we won't know the results for four weeks.

Things I've actually accomplished...

So here is my counter/work space/desk. Usually all my papers and junk are spread out over the entire counter and the pile just grows bigger and bigger until it falls off the counter and I am forced to sort through it and put it away where it goes. Then I find things I should have taken care of a week ago. It's a sad and inaffective system. DH makes fun of it all the time. I have been working on keeping the pile small lately just to say "I love you" to DH (not that he noticed). I have been looking for some type of filing system to get the papers organized. Something simple, not too cutesy and not plastic. I found this at Costco today for $14.95. I would have loved a better price but I just finished my taxes so I'm feeling ritzy. I am so pleased.

Here is the cupboard above it. I did do a little decluttering in the cupboard above it so I could give myself even more pats on the back. At the top is the can of paint that is for the kitchen walls. The tub on the top shelf is all the manuals for all the appliances and such that I hardly need but it's nice have them all in one place. The purple tub holds a variety of pens, pencils, erasers, screwdrivers, etc. The basket next to it is my small collection of cake decorating supplies. It doesn't really makes sense to have it in this cupboard but that's where it is for now. My phone charger is next to it. And all my recipe books and Household Organizer notebook. I also have a Christmas Organizer notebook. All these notebooks could use some cleaning out and reorganizing.






Here are pictures of the two dresses I just made for a friend of mine D. D. Her two girls are flower girls in a wedding this weekend. I really didn't have time for these but I am so glad that I did them anyway because it made me do some sewing and I felt good about that. They turned out super cute and she has super cute girls. I couldn't decided which one of these pictures would post better so I just put them both on here. I tried a new zipper method that came with the pattern and I like it so I scanned the instructions in and printed a copy to use as a reference for later. I also tried the rolled hem on my serger which I had never had tried before because I thought it would be too much work to set it up. It was really easy. A woman from church is supposed to come this week and bring me the stuff for two bridesmaid dresses. It's fun to earn a little cash. I am saving up all my sewing money and hiding it but I haven't decided what I am going to use it for yet. I'm sure it won't take long for me to think of something(s).

Stephenie vs. Sarah

I still can't quite get into The Host. I am about 53 pages in and it still annoys me. The story is tolerable so I can only conclude it is the writing. I had started two other books. One was A Piece of Work which I enjoyed. The other was recommended by Anth. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this book right from the beginning. It was magical and romantic. Everyone ends up "perfectly" happy in the end. An ideal girl book.



FYI-It does have some swearing and sexual content.


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Everyone I know is sick...

Really, everyone!

Update

I wrote a few emails to my sister today so I am just going to copy and paste a few things to give an update on what we did this week.

I didn't get to exercise till today, since last Thursday. So I was feeling pretty blobbish. Monday and Tuesday I was going none stop all day so that has to count for something. Monday I was still blowing my nose pretty frequently and Sunday I stayed home with the girls. Yesterday was a lot better but today my throat is dry and hope it doesn't develop into a cough. It's so annoying.

I took Em to the dentist yesterday. This was her second visit. I have absolutely no recollection of the first visit and it was only six months ago. She was so funny. She had a goofy grin on her face the whole time and was having such a good time. They kept telling her how well she followed directions and they told me she was so smart. So we all felt good. She has lots of space in her mouth so that may be one kid who won't need braces. She normally doesn't like doctors appointments but she is getting more confident about trying new things and tolerating new people. At home she is trying to be nicer to everyone. Ballerina still throws quite a few fits a day but when she is happy she is adorable. She really enjoys life. Cory tried going three days without pullups at night and he wet the bed all three nights so he's back in the pullups. He's also having a problem with telling me the truth when the answer might get him in trouble or create more work on his part. I got so upset with him one day for lying right to my face and yet he is still doing it. I'm not sure what to do about it.

We've been rockin out to Plain white t's music. It didn't occur to me that I could watch music video's on youtube. i'm slow.

I am having stir fry leftovers. Scott took the smaller tupperware. Sucka! Ballerina and Em are having cup o noodle, their favorite lunch.

Ballerina's new saying when em does something she doesn't like, "How dare you?" And for a while they kept saying they were going to "check you out." I kept trying to figure out what that meant. It was something bad. Finally I figured out that's their term for when they draw on each other's pictures when they are coloring.

IF you come over right now my house is clean. No one ever comes when it's clean. I could keep it clean for a month and no one would come till the day it got messy.

It's nothing against you Stephenie

Maybe it's the way you have all e's and no a in your name. I don't know but I just started The Host hoping to be pleasantly surprised but so far I can barely get through the book. The prologue made me want to gag.
The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer

My review

I am not very far into this book and I can't stand it. I am trying to figure out what I hate about it. Possibly the author. I am not sure. I am going to give it a hundred pages because it is for bookclub. I'll just call my niece and have her tell me how it ends. Sorry to all my friends who love it.


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Nearly Impossible

I just updated my accounts and I realized that I didn't go to Target the entire month of December. No Way!

We don't have a Walmart in Keizer so our only options are "Smelly Old" Bimart and Target.

The next project

Here is my next project. This will be 2 flower girl dresses for a friend. It's in a silver-gray satin with a sheer overlay on the skirt. The neck is round (sweetheart neckline in the picture) and the hem will be straight and floor length. I will post the finished project later this month. I will be lining the skirt with a crinoline petticoat. She wants the skirt to stand out on the bottom. They want to look very princess. I will be using horse hair braid on the hem of the satin layer of the skirt. Pretty easy since I've done a lot of this style before.

I know I was just whining about being stressed then I take on these sewing projects. But I feel like if I don't I will never make time for sewing and that would be really sad for me.

Yucky Chuck E. and other people's kids

So last Saturday I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. Cory had earned it on his reading chart that DH made for reading at home. DH wanted to put it off, especially because he wasn't feeling well, but I want the kids to know we are reliable. If we say we are going to do something then we do it. I told DH to stay home and rest so he would be ready for our date that night that meant a lot to me. I hate places like McD's and Chuck E. Cheese because they make me feel dirty. I feel like I am being coated with germs, sweat, and pee the moment I walk in there. But the kids love it so I decided I could deal with it for a few hours. Saturday is the worst day to go but the only day we would be able to go. Cor and Mya got their tokens and I told them to stay together but they didn't have to stay with me. I kept Em and Ballerina with me. Ballerina kept wondering off. She is little and she would just start following who ever got in front of her. There weren't very many things they felt brave enough to do. We got our little prizes and were there for less than two hours.

The worst part was other people's kids. Little kids, younger than Em and Ballerina, were running around with no adult supervision. We had to wait our turn for every thing we wanted to do and half the time some kid would run up cut right in front of us. Or they would try to climb on a ride while one of the girls were on it. Sometimes I said something but most of the kids just ignored me. Later on Saturday I was at the grocery and some 8-10 year old kid came up and starting taking things out of my cart. I told him that was my stuff and he tossed it in the cart and ran off. Completely oblivious.

Today Ballerina has a runny nose and I am pretty sure I know where she got it from. But if I had to compliment Chuck E. Cheese it was nice that they had so many employees there and they kept people as organized as they could and kept the floors picked up.

Last night Ballerina came into our room. She can't breathe well so she couldn't sleep. We never let the kids sleep in our bed but I was so tired and I knew if I sent her back to bed I'd just be up with her again in a few minutes. So I let her have half the bed and I snuggled up on the other half with DH. She slept pretty good for several hours. About six in the morning she got up and went back to her own bed. I guess sleeping with Mom and Dad wasn't all she dreamed it would be. Maybe she'll realize her own bed is better. Doubtful but I can hope. Ballerina has been trying her whole 3 1/2 years to be able to sleep in our bed. She only sleeps through the night 2-3 nights a week. Now that she wears panties to bed we have to get up with her and take her to the bathroom. Good thing she is the baby.

DH went to the doctor yesterday because he had some really weird symptoms and Friday. And all weekend he was completely exhausted. He is a pretty healthy guy so it really worried him. The doctor thought it was a result of the all the stress he has been under. Sunday night I had talked to him about how stressful our life has been and the effect it's having on our relationship. We decided that we need to work on our communication since the stress is not going to end any time soon. Every night we've been sitting and talking. Sometimes it's hard to get DH to talk because he'd rather just listen. But he is trying. Last night I really confused him because I actually did want him to give me a solution to my problem. I am really stressed out. I feel like I am doing all I can but it's not nearly enough.

Yesterday, as we were crossing the street near the school one of the cars did not stop until the last possible second. The crossing guard was waving the flag at him. It was a bunch of teenagers and they were laughing. Where is a police man when you need one? So as we were crossing one of the other moms crossing yelled, "This is a School crossing you Jack-A**." She said that several times while she was surrounded by school children including mine. After that her boy was telling her something that happened at school and she asked him if he kicked their butt. This boy was a kindergartener. Luckily he said no in a confused sort of way. She used a few other offensive words in the 1 1/2 minutes we had to be near her. I didn't say anything because she was bigger than me, mean looking and also had another large, butch cut woman next to her and I am sure they would have been in no mood to take my constructive criticism. I understand that a lot of people using an excessive amount of foul language but to me it shows a severe lack of intelligence.

Today I was going to volunteer in each of the kids classrooms but I decided I better not take Ballerina anywhere. Now I have time to exercise and get ready for our Young Women activity tonight. Now I just got thinking about everything again and I am almost in tears. DH asked if he could help me with anything but I don't really need help I just need less to think about but that's just not going to happen. I know I need to be more patient with myself. If I don't learn how to deal with it I am going to have a breakdown soon. But I am probably just being dramatic.

This morning Em kept coming up to me and showing me her hand but she was holding it a different way each time. I kept asking her what I was supposed to be looking at but then she would say nothing and run off. She likes to be mysterious like that. Finally she came back to show me what she could do with her hand and she said, "K." She was doing sign language. It was on the back of her cereal box. She just showed me the sign for "E" for Em. Apparently I don't need to teach my kids anything and just buy more store brand cereal.

Cor just started piano lessons and he doesn't want Mya to help him. Mya has been taking lessons for over two years. Their teacher told them it would do them both good if he would let Mya help him when he practices. This morning Cor was working on a little song and Mya came up and starting helping him and after a little encouragement from me he watched her and listened. It really made me happy to see them learning together. I loooooove that my kids are playing the piano. Their teacher is amazing because she recognized immediately that Mya and Cor have completely different learning styles but both work well for learning to play the piano.

Fun with my KitchenAid

I should be posting this on my cooking blog but it's mostly bragging about how much I love my KitchenAid stand mixer.

My mom found this Mixer Attachment pack at a garage sale then never used it. I sent her my I want it vibes and when she was packing up to move she gave it to me. It was pretty dirty and had mouse droppings in it from being stored so long. I brought it home and put it in the garage so that I could get around to it later. I didn't want to bring it in until I was ready to clean it up. DH mistook it for something that needed to go to the attic. My electric cheese grater broke a couple months ago and I am so sick of grating cheese by hand. Tonight I asked DH to go find the box that had the attachments in it.

I got it out and cleaned it up. It's only missing that little brown thing called the stomper that pushes the food down into the mill. And if I get the plates (around $30) I could make pasta with it. My mom used to make homemade pasta when we were kids and I loved it.

The whole pack is worth $130 on Amazon. It's just too bad I didn't have it when my babies needed everything mashed. It would have been handy for that. I guess I'll use it for my grandbabies someday.

GorillaPod

I saw this on the Selfish Mom blog. It's called a gorillapod. And now I think I need it.

Emergency Preparedness Giveaway

I just found this website that has tons of info on emergency preparedness and has a give-away each month.

In our little town of Keizer there is this woman who runs up and down the main road. She has an 80's look to her and she runs daily and and she has a jogging stroller for her child that never seems to get any older. A couple years back they put a picture of her on the cover of the Keizer Business Directory. She is an icon of Keizer.

I like to walk and I have a double stroller and mostly I use it for my little girls to ride in while I walk with Cory and Mya to School and back. It's about 1 1/2 mile round trip to the school and back and the idea is that I would do that twice a day. When the weather is nice I do that 3 to 4 days a week. It's cold enough right now I don't want to go outside unless I really have to. Actually I haven't wanted to exercise, I guess I am in a slump. I decided I needed some motivation. I decided that since I love my husband and I want him to have something nice to look at and not my flabby body. That sounds silly but that was motivation enough.

I also had car problems with my van. It would sometimes start and sometimes not. I could always get it to start on the 2nd or 3rd try but I was worried my luck would run out and eventually I would be stuck somewhere. The best time of day to take my van in would be when I only have the two girls but I didn't want to bother anyone with helping me get to the auto shop and back home. So I decided to walk. Yesterday when I went to drop the van off I kept track of the distance and it was a little over 3 miles. It was no problem and I made sure DH left me the Ipod touch so Em and Ballerina would have something to do otherwise they end up fighting a lot when they are in the stroller a long time. Walking home from the shop was no problem. Today I had to walk the kids to school then walk back to the shop to pick up the van. In all I think I walked 4 1/2 miles. This time was more up hill so I got a pretty good work out. I was joking with my sister that I could be the next Keizer icon.

I would like to have a nicer looking tummy and it seems like a worthwhile goal since my baby is 3 1/2 and I don't plan on having any more. Now I need to come up with some kind of plan for how I am going to get these abs of steel. I think I might do some research today. I know quite a few ab exercises from all the videos I have done so I could probably come up with something on my own. I am also trying to watch what I eat now that the holidays are over. I have 4 more pounds to lose to be at my ideal weight and I know that isn't much but it's really stubborn and won't leave easily. Being in shape and healthy is way more important than how much I weigh at this point. Having rockin' abs would definitely be a bonus.

Even when I have been in shape my legs are not the sexiest which is fine with me. My arms do look nice when they are more tone. My second motivation is our trip to Fiji this summer and I am hoping to spend a significant amount of time laying around on the beautiful beaches so I want to look as fab as possible. I don't have unrealistic expectations of looking like a movie star or super model but I know what potential my body has. And I do have the benefit of having a husband who likes me just the way I am. I know that helps my self image a lot.

Some friends at church keep encouraging me to attend their exercise group they have at the church building. I did that all last year and my little girls were such a pain, hanging on me all the time. This year they have worked out a babysitting system but I still haven't felt like going and I don't know why because I think it would be a lot more fun to exercise with others. I guess I feel like that will take up a good portion of my day and end up being more stressful than beneficial. Plus up to this point I haven't had Ballerina fully potty trained and I didn't want to deal with her and have the whole thing be a waste of my time. I have been pretty protective of my time lately. I don't know how effective it's been. I don't get a rush from being busy and going lots of places all the time and dealing with crying and the fights so I try not to go anywhere unless the benefit out weighs the trouble it takes to get there. I assume anyone with little kids knows what I am talking about.

I'd rather be naked than wear those clothes

I thought I was being a nice mom instead I created a monster. At our last Enrichment meeting we had what we call the give away table where everyone brings their unwanted items to share with others. Anything left over is taken to Deseret Industries (DI) which is similar to Goodwill (GW). I got quite of few good things this time. One was a white Tinkerbell t-shirt for Ballerina. She was so excited about it and put it on right away.

She refuses to take the shirt off day and night. So every two days I have to peel it off of her and wash it. This afternoon I had an appointment so I told her she had to take the shirt off so I could wash it and get dressed in some clean clothes so we could go. She started crying and threw herself on the floor. I got two outfits out that she could pick from. This made her more angry and then she started taking the Tinkerbell shirt off saying she was never going to wear it again. Then she said she wanted to be naked jay bird (that's what we call it when someone is naked).

"I no wear those clothes. I be naked jay bird."

Basically she is saying she would rather go through life naked if she can't wear her favorite shirt. It's funny now but at the time I was pretty irritated because she made us late for my appointment and she cries and throws fits at least a hundred fifty times a day.

But she is now pooping every three days instead of once a week. That has made life a lot less stressful. She is also obsessed with playing Webkinz and even when Em begged her to come play she was more concerned about playing on the computer. She is a fun kid but she gets very focused on what she wants and it's impossible to change her mind. She gets that from her dad.

Addicted to Webkinz

You need to buy a webkinz for your kids right now. The faster they get their webkinz the faster they can start having fun and learning. You and your kids can sit down and spend time together when you are showing them everything that they can do with their new pet. Your kids will love you forever. You definitely want to see your kids happy and to see them getting more education. What is better than them getting the education of responsibility that will help them throughout their whole life? There are more webkinz then you will ever be able to buy for your kids but letting them get one will make you and them happy. So go get one today.

This is a quote from the WebkinzHub website. I especially love the part, "Your kids will love you forever." Or until they want another webkinz.

DH and I have started playing the games for Em and Ballerina on the webkinz site to help them earn Kinzcash. Without Kinzcash Ballerina can't buy clothes or even food for her pet. Ballerina is 3 1/2 and most the games are too complex for her. Em stands next to her while she is playing and tells her what to buy. I don't think it is teaching either of them to be responsible. But they know it's just for fun and they only get a set amount of time each day to play. It's funny to watch Em on the computer she clicks around and does things on that website super fast without being able to read. She even memorized her login information.

Some of the games are really fun and challenging. Sometimes I like to play the mindless games just to feel good about myself. Cor is always low on cash and Mya has plenty to spare because she is careful with it. In real life and in Webkinz World. I love playing it so much that I find all other computer games a dissappointment because I am not earning Kinzcash. DH is just as hooked.

It's good having the computer in a central location where I can keep an eye on what they are doing. I don't let them play on it when I am in the shower or busy in another room. I constantly worry about how much time they spend on the computer, TV and other mindless entertainment. Cor thinks that's the only thing to do in the world. We really focused on getting him things for Christmas that might give him something else to do. I did teach him how to use the knifty knitter and he is knitting a hat. He is doing well and almost done.